Steve Earle – Guitar Town debuted at #1 on november 8th 1986. All songs written or co-written by Steve Earle

Clint Black – Killin’ Time debuted at #1 on Sept. 23rd, 1989. All songs written or co-written by Black

also of note is Miranda Lamberts debut album debuted at #1 and all songs except 1 were written or co-written by her. If she knew it was contest I bet she would have left that song off :-P

also, this statement made me laugh and scratch my head at the same time: “….[Taylor Swift] being the first artist ever to write or co-write all the songs on a debut album.”

seriously, you believe that?????

Brady: People use that excuse all the time. I should have worded it a little differently, but the “you” basically meant youself being added to the list of people who throw this as the main reason she is so successful.

Brady: It’s very relevant to include other A. I. contestants and winners. The audience for Carrie was the same audience for these people (minus Kelly who had a much smaller audience because she was from the first season). The difference is that Carrie had the ability to maintain the audience – much like Kelly and Daughtry – while others lost much of their audience by the time their second album came around and other seasons began. Who cares if they were in country or not?

Brady: Without American Idol, we would never have heard of Carrie Underwood. With that respect, it’s indeed helped her in her career. But, it’s been over 5 years, and it’s a safe bet that the majority of people would classify her as succeeding way beyond the boundaries of just a talent show winner. No one’s denied completely of the show’s impact, but as years go by and she’s still garnering much success, the show aspect does kind of start fading away.

Wrong. Your responses lack any sort of nuance. A few of Carrie’s singles thus far have been incredibly lackluster and it’s due to her popularity that they’re reaching the top of the charts, not the inherent quality of the songs, which can be said for lots of artists/songs that reach the top. It’s not something that’s restricted to Carrie one way or the other.

Dan E: “Since you keep bringing up the “she was on a show” excuse (which is getting really old after 5 years)…”

Umm, could you please point out when and where I keep bringing this up?

Dan E: “I will keep on mentioning that other A. I. contestants are still waiting for their singles to become major hits. (mainly the person that won right after Carrie). Taylor even submitted a song to country, where was his love?”

Did Taylor claim to be a country artist while on the show? Did he submit his song to country radio right after winning or did he jump on the country bandwagon as a last chance grasp at commercial success? The same goes for other winners of AI; are they in country music or not? I think the answer is obvious and does nothing to bolster your argument.

Seriously y’all, I’m not trying to chalk all of Carrie’s success up to American Idol, but to completely deny its impact on her career is just as foolish as trying to claim it as the sole reason for her success. The impact is undeniable.

K: “If you think my comments are “inaccurate,” you should take the issue up with the outlets that report such things, not me.”

Actually, the snippet you quoted is correct, but your original statement wasn’t.

I meant in different countries like Uk, Sweden, Japan, France.

I think it would be interesting to see how CU did in these markets that winning AI in the US doesn’t affect them at all. Like with Leona or Agnes coming to the US.

That may be true, but I wasn’t talking about Taylor is a viable entertainer, but rather the impact she will have on the industry as a whole.

“Swift has also become successful in different markets CU hasn’t yet.”

Yeah, the pop charts and a few TV spots; such things do not secure an artists place in history no matter how versitile they may be. Trying out different markets may give Swift an avantage in the long run, but not right now.

“I think the three it is between is Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban, and Taylor Swift for EOTY.”

Carrie isn’t nominated for ETOY.

Brady:If you think my comments are “inaccurate,” you should take the issue up with the outlets that report such things, not me.

“as much as Carrie fans hate to admit it, coming from a television show, where she performed in front of millions of people week in and week out, gave her a huge advantage in regards to achieving that record.”

That may be true in regards to her record sales, but I have a difficult time believing Carrie’s fans had that much of an impact in helping get her songs to the top. Of course they request her singles like crazy, but as soon as any artist becomes established in Nashvile it usually becomes automatic that such an artist is played constantly and impact of fans becomes less important.

I understand the undeniable impact American Idol has had on Underwood’s career, but isn’t it safe to say that she has established enough of an indentity for skeptics to stop saying she acheived something because of the show?

She has been off of the show for almost five years, and she has proven that her talent and cred in the industry is solid without the show.